Now Showing | Aakash Nihalani

There’s a renegade romance to street art — sprinting from cops, working in the shadows, using an alias, all in the name of art. But Aakash Nihalani, who creates trompe l’oeil 3-D boxes using tape on sidewalks and public surfaces, isn’t so cloak and dagger about things. He takes his time creating installations in broad daylight, makes videos of the process and even uses his real name. (Maybe his nonchalance relates to the fact that his artwork is easily peeled off, unlike spray paint.) His work is currently on view throughout the city and, for the next two Saturdays, at the 17 Frost gallery space in Williamsburg. For those interested in further demystification of his street art, this Saturday Nihalani will be presenting a slide show and answering questions at the gallery. In the meantime, we’ve slipped him a few queries of our own:

Where in the city do you do most of your tape installations?

Most of the work can be seen on the streets, and in the subways, of downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. But really anywhere along my way is fair game.

When did you start your street art?

I started working in the street about a year ago, and I cannot stop.

Where do you get your incredible, high-visibility tape?

When I’m in need of a quick fix, I hit up Barbizon in midtown Manhattan.

Do you ever tussle with cops, the M.T.A. or shop owners in order to keep your work from being removed?

I’ve asked cops and maintenance staff to wait for me to take a quick photo before they start taking it down, and most have let me. There’s also been plenty of instances of workers walking past me and not saying anything even though they see me taping. And on very rare occasions a person in uniform will stop just to share some positive feedback, human to human. But no, I don’t try to convince. They’re just doing their jobs, like me.

(Aakash Nihalani)

The 17 Frost space is located at 17 Frost Street between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street in Wiliamsburg. Questions about Nihalani’s show and talk can be directed to Bose Pacia gallery. For more images of his work, visit the artist’s Web site and Flickr page.